West Brook girls basketball falls in bidistrict playoffs

Goose Creek's edge in size and strength negated some of West Brook's speed and the Patriots advanced in Monday's Class 6A bidistrict girls playoff, 60-45.

The Bruins end their season 19-6 and never performed as fourth-year coach Andrea Jackson expected at the Lee College in Baytown.

Goose Creek Memorial (19-13) advanced to this weekend's second round against the winner of tonight's Pearland-Alvin bidistrict game.

Four Patriots post players, led by junior Bre'Lyn Adams towered over West Brook's shorter, smaller opponents. They blocked nine West Brook shots in the second half after the Bruins trailed only 24-21 at halftime.

"I'm speechless," the Bruins coach said. "As a coach, you can tell how your team is going to play. I could tell during shoot-around that we were drained. It was not my team. It was, but it wasn't."

The game's leading scorer, Serenity Bill-Williams, ended her West Brook hoops career with 17 points and her opening-minute layup placed the Bruins ahead 2-0. That turned into the Bruins' only lead all night.

Coach Darcie Moore said her team's plan worked as she had hoped.

"We knew we were taller and stronger inside going into the game," GCM's coach said. "We knew that was going to have to be a factor for us to win and our inside players came up big."

Adams and junior point guard Madison Jones paced the Patriots with 15 points each. Adams collected her team's first six points of the third quarter with three layups, increasing Goose Creek's advantage to 32-24 after the Bruins came within three at the break.

Jones cashed in a three-pointer before the third-quarter buzzer, widening Goose Creek's lead to 42-28. The Patriots spent much of the fourth quarter at the foul line, connecting on 11 of 19 fourth-quarter free throws.

"We played good tonight," Adams said after bringing down a game-high 14 rebounds. "I feel like all the hard work really paid off."